GENEVA, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Preliminary evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological update, said that more data was needed to better understand the extent to which Omicron may evade immunity derived from either vaccines or previous infection. “As a result of this, the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” it said, echoing comments made by WHO officials at an online briefing on Tuesday. But the trend is declining in the proportion of Alpha, Beta and Gamma, and with the emergence of Omicron variant. Out of the total, some 3,755 – or 0.4 percent – were Omicron and the other three variants of concern together numbered 401, less than 0.1 percent each.
